Doomsworld Fates

[Maharg67]

Post #31 

 

[One][16.3]

The SeekataskteamA03A01 moved further into what appeared to be mostly a complex of more mundane nature than any exotic one. Catacomb areas had horizontal slots with wrapped, long dead, corpses of common Shaztecfolk being of the Middle Classes, according to Shazzie, had to make their own burial arrangements; that is unless they gained the means to bribe a relevant member of the common priesthood or any of the orders of male monks, female nuns and neuter devis. Clearly a few had managed to do so.

They came upon a grand domechamber and in that great space a strangely designed, hulking, clockwork machine that appeared to be partly a large time keeping mechanism. Except that the clock faces showed jagged Shaztec symbology including hieroglyphics and each had four, odd shaped, arrows. The machine clearly showed rust in some areas. In a large, brass bowl, were shrunken heads complete with emblem dotted headbands. Nothing had been functioning, it was visible, for a very long time.

Shazzie pointed to what seemed to be a symbolic, surreal, mural covering a large area of wall. “It is both a genuine religious gesture artwork and a set of heavily coded clues to how to find various, hidden, locations. Professor Sagesmart taught a group, of us Shaztecs plus Zhastecs, a key to decode the cryptic clues. He told us five names that he had gained from five sessions here, in this very chamber, trying to decipher the secrets of that mural. That is The Sacred Chamber of Five Glowing Gates, The Domechamber  of 13 Sacred Vaults, The Sacred Chamber of Entering the Sacred Maze, The Sacred Place of Beastly Animations and The Kings Queens Chamber of Toilet Thrones; I am not sure I want to go to the last one.”

“He said that there were plenty, of other names, hidden there but that he guessed that at least a few were less important, diversions, from the others. He decoded no clues pointing to any Shadowy Core of Deep Mysteries but said that, under the circumstances, that did not mean much. Oh, he confessed that he might have gotten wrong his workings out resulting in the name The Kings Queens Chamber of Toilet Thrones.”

Sharry smiled richly. “No, the name is true! It states that successfully using the toilets, before VIP witnesses, was seen as important a ceremony; I wonder if they ever achieved a successful 'royal flush'.

After Shazzie gave Sharry a puzzled look, Sharry explained about ancient playing cards, the game known as poker and the concept of a 'royal flush'. Then Shazzie sort of got the point and she laughed though just a little.

 

Edited August 5 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #32 

 

[One][16.4]

After Sharry, and Shanda who was a male Seekachampion in the taskteam, together studied again the mural. This time so did a simuladroid and a robogolem using varied types of scanners.

Then Sharry, on a hunch, shone her supersolidstate, multimorphin, handtorch on the mural and she laughed softly when it exposed a very well hidden door. “That is the way to reaching all those named locations in the mural of which there are 14.”

By pressing a section, of the mural, they caused the whole wall section to slide back, with a little difficulty thanks to lack of maintenance, and then to one side. SeekataskteamA3A1 began to move along a long, wide, tall hallway after having the secret door close behind them; they did not want to be trapped between two possible threats coming at them from front and rear. The air, in the passage, was lightly stale, and there was a very light layer of dust due to large air vents being rather low in the wall. Of those there were three, in each wall, that directly faced each other across the hallway.

Shanka stopped the 21 of them moving as they came to be quite close to the door at the far end of the hallway. It looked to be made of wood and not at all armoured. “Too easy, far too easy and look at the colouration of the floor leading up to it. It is just a shade darker than the rest of the rest of the hallway floor.”

Shanka took out a glistening black ball that looked like it was made of rubber and threw it at the different coloured floor. The ball sprang back to him, he easily caught it and put it away, and the floor collapsed away with great speed. It kept falling, and falling, down a very long shaft until it struck hard ground. Doing so caused only a muffled sound as if from a long distance away. Looking down only revealed the fallen away flooring and no more.

They went back and carefully examined the oddly big vent openings with their heavy steel grid coverings. Every one, of the six of them, turned out to have switches but that did not mean all of them led to safe, positive, destinations. Shaztecs were infamous for creating clever deceptions and cunning booby traps.

The first way, to their left as they faced away from the now open pit, led to a once deadly booby trap but the arrow spitting machine had long broken down.

The first way, to their right, led to a chamber with another collapsing floor booby trap but for some, mysterious, reason it had done so probably a long time ago. It revealed just another deep pit. Looking down, the Seekaquesters saw no evidence of anybody dying because of the collapse.

The second way, to their left, led to a chamber full of what might be called minor prizes. That is Shaztec artefacts of gold, silver, brass studded with gems and pieces of jade along with other such prizes. There was no booby trap but the chamber seemed likely to be a bribe, a diversion, to appease intruders so that they would leave with any loot that they happened to obtain from there. It was covered with a layer of dust.

 

Edited September 4 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #33 

 

[One][16.5]

The contents, of that chamber, was transshifted off to Seekakeep so that they could be carefully analysed for safety and security reasons. Only then would they be passed over to be analysed by archaeologists and historians. Searching, that room, led to finding no secret doors or other such features.

It was well known that if the miserly Shaztecs offered such bribery, it was a warning that should be appreciated and that most treasure hunters took the hint. They grabbed up what they could and departed rather than face a level of threat beyond their capacity to deal with. This was but another reflection of the unusual, often contradictory seeming, thinking of the Shaztecs that often puzzled non Shaztecs.

The second way, to their right, was to a chamber with coffin alcoves set into two walls a right angles to the vent tunnel. They were all open and the remains, of long dead, mummiats lay scattered across the floor. Even mummiats needed at least some kind of nourishment; once they became active, and clearly they had gained none.

The third way, to their left, led to five large doors of heavy steel armouring.

The third way, to their right, ended in booby trap with a long failed death dealing machine that could no longer even try to do so.

It was good that robogolems could crawl so they all made it easy enough into that chamber of five doors.

Of the five doors, two turned out to be fakes leading to blank walls. The other three led to long failed booby traps. So they examined the supposedly blank walls. One was truly what it looked like and the other was fake.

So it was that they came to the The Sacred Chamber of Entering the Sacred Maze, as it stated in Shaztec hieroglyphics emblazoned on one wall. There were three entrances and in front of each was a metallic figure in plate armour with a great broadsword and a large, round, shield; they were, in turn, were embellished with bronze, gold and silver. They tried to move but rust soon had them grinding to a halt. Then came a creaky voice, from each in turn, from the newcomers' left to right.

The bronze guardian said. “ We are the Guardians of the Ways into the Maze. My way is easiest, and safest, but only leads you to a way back to the surface; by the bronze sacred steed sacrificed, can you trust my words?”

The second said. “My way is moderate, and less safe but safer than the next way forwards while leading only to moderate gains and mysteries to uncover; by the silver holy steed sacrificed, can you trust my words?”

The third said. “My way is hardest, far less safe, while leading to strong gains and great mysteries to uncover; by the golden mystic steed sacrificed, can you trust my words?”

 

Edited September 4 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #34 

[One][16.6]

 

Professor Sagesmart materialised as he projected into the chamber. “Repeat to me what you have already said, steel clad clockwork golems.”

They did so and the professor shook his head. “There are two false questions and one true one for no matter which steed was mentioned the word after the word describing the type of metal, is always 'sacred'. Only the first door guardian answered using the that term and the others said words of 'mystic' and 'holy'. Thus the first way is the only viable way and most likely does not lead to the surface.”

The bronze guardian spoke, again with obvious difficulty. “Really, just like that, you see through our trickiness! All this time we wait to try to catch people out, to try to have some fun, and you... just like that you... well it was a terrible anticlimax.”

Sharry sighed, with obvious patience, and the three figures were transshifted to Seekakeep. “You can reveal your true self; those guardians never did speak, the clues being written on the plaques embedded into the floor areas before them.”

The fake Professor Sagesmart became the LittleJestsManif who looked like a pattern emblazoned jester of the OldEarth and some areas of the NewEarth before the Doomsdays took place; perhaps there were still jesters out there trying to entertain people.

She spoke in a 'clownish' voice. “The bronze way leads to multiple death traps while the others lead just to dead ends.” She turned and pointed her jester's stick, with a jester head on it's end, at a blank wall. From it sprang a pulsating beam of energy. The area of wall simply vanished away. “With so much rust, the armoured secret door would not have opened and it no longer matters, as you will soon see for your self.”

The LittleJestsManif somersaulted through the air and landed with a hearty, annoying, laugh. “Just having fun, I was! What did the cow say to the milkmaid; nothing, cows can't speak but true dragons can!”

Then she was gone, in a dramatic puff of multicoloured smoke. Behind himself he left three, standard sized, six sided, dice on the floor with unique bright, colour coded, sides dotted with unique symbols. Sharry picked them up, examined them carefully, and then slipped them away into the inside of her hoodrobe.

“Only to be used if most necessary to do so! Though the LittleJestsManif brought the dice to us, she was only delivering for another; or so the information stated that came to me when I picked up the Questing Dice. The symbols change, or stay the same, when the dice are used but each colour coding stays as it is. Meanings change when different symbols are against different coloured backgrounds. There are six distinctive symbols that can appear on side of either dice when facing upwards. Other variations, of meaning, depend on how the two symbols, and colours, contrast between each dice.”

They went through the hole in the wall!

Yet even then a deep doubt, about just what had just happened, began to niggle at the Seekachampions.

 

 

Edited August 3 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #35

 

[One][17.1]

An aspect, of the LittlePrimeManif, sat at an ornate wooden table dotted with dragon motifs and read the first edition of the Seekar Chronicle that lay open before him. He wore fancy red robes that a royal monarch might wear on a throne. He even had a small crown on his head.

An aspect, of the LittleChestManif, was lying comfortably on a thick, ornate, mattress. Aspects, of the LittleServesManif and the LittleJestsManif, also sat at the table as firstly a woman and, secondly, a man.

The LittleServesManif sat in a nurse's outfit of a white minidress, black fishnet stockings, white high heel boots, a red pouch dotted belt and a red nurse's cap. She wore the symbol of the Red Tree Paramedical Service. Except that, of course, non of it was real. She took a sip from a mug of coffee that never became empty and then spoke.

“It was you feared, LittlePrimeManif, there are troubles with the LittleFatesManif but not all of that one's aspects.” She paused to take a thoughtful sip of blackest, of black, coffee that was not really coffee at all. “One has brought three, of that one's aspect, into isolated quarantine but not that one's core aspect though one has tried to do so.”

The LittlePrimeManif spoke quietly, reassuringly. “Thus is the way, of the LittleFatesManif, to become thus entangled. The results are always what they must be, what ever they happen to be. We, of the LittleCelestialManifs, can only do what we can, and must, do!”

The clown costumed LittleJestsManif, as a man this time, spoke in a cheery voice as his bulbous red nose blinked off and on. “What did the mirror image say to the mirror? It said I reflect the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

The LittlePrimeManif frowned softly and looked up from the exotic newspaper as delivered by the LittleChestManif not so long ago to that place, the LittleCelestialHome. “Aaahhh, yes, the LittleMirrorManif could, would, be most useful. The Seekars are doing quite well, especially considering that secretive forces have been trying to sabotage their efforts to complete their quests. You delivered, to them, a pair of Chances Questing Dice, did you not, LittleJestsManif? One should have been notified before that was done! Not that it truly matters! The LittleCelestialWays lead us LittleCelestialManifs to do what we must.”

The LittleJestsManif smiled not so much as usual. “Was it not you, LittlePrimeManif, who instructed me to pickup the Chances Questing Dice from the LittleKeepsManif and deliver them to the Seekachampions? I had with me your true, and proper, authorisation to do so!”

The LittlePrimeManif took on a solemn expression on his face. “No, I did not give any such authorisation! It is time to call a meeting, of all reachable LittleCelestialManifs, to be held here.”

 

Edited August 3 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #36 

 

[One][18.1]

While the Seekaquesters Taskteam moved through the early stages of a maze, the rest of SeekateamA3 were busy studying information that had come with the 100 books; had appeared in the display section of the 'wardrobe' that was an an aspect shapeform of Seekatranspost. Though they were limited in how much information, that they provided, the 10 red volumes on the Shaztecs had part of volume #3 dedicated to Shaztec Mazes.

They served different purposes but many were built, and designed, to make it dangerous for intruders trying to trespass to sacred sites. There turned out to be clever ways for Shaztec maze keepers, guards and others to get through those same mazes easily and safely. That is disguised markers, in the maze, puzzles that could be solved, the very patterns of each class of 11 mazes and more.

In Seekatranspost they created holographic projection concepts of Shaztec mazes. Shenny communicated with the taskteam and passed on a concise report of what had been concluded from research done in Seekatranspost. Yet there were still too many clues and not enough clear answers to how to successfully navigate those mazes.

Even as the taskteam ran into killing machines, that were in good condition, Shenny lead a research effort that studied 'Shaztec Puzzle Artworks' because a few of them were described as being linked to mazes. That is hidden in them were solutions to get through particular mazes.

Metallic arrows sprayed the area but rebounded from projected energy shields. The arrow throwers, by their translated Shaztec name, were hidden except for holes in a wall so were difficult to strike at. Precise strikes, by laserguns, knocked out the weapons one by one.

Beyond that the taskteam came into polished metal mirror maze. Somehow it was no surprise when a sudden flash, of intensive white light, attempted to blind and disorient them. The taskteam were not effected and went into a defensive formation. Their 'hunch' turned out to be correct as shadowlings came through mirror walls ahead, and behind, them. That was because the phasephysical entities kept them coming more directly through closer mirror walls.

Shadowghosts, shadowghasts and shadowtasms swarmed at the apparently trapped Seekaquesters but then were swept away by lasers. That is except for most of them that turned and quickly escaped, doing so through walls.

The real problem could have been that they would warn others of the taskteam being there but the message, claiming that they would come to a bad end, already indicated that they were being constantly traced or was that true? With no solid evidence, to rely on, all they could do was to remain as alert as possible and also ready to act.

The mirror walls, facing each other, caused the usual 'infinite reflections effect' and yet the Seekachampions did not take that for granted. So when the more 'distant reflections' started to distort, they were not really surprised though Shazzie and Sagesmart were. The simuladroids, and robots, were not capable of such emotions.

 

Edited August 3 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #37 

[One][18.2]

 

There came a dark spiritual psychic attack from the effect of the mirror distortion. The strange attack had no effect on the androids or robots while the Seekachampions threw it off but they were soon protecting Shazzie. They did this by placing themselves, either side of the pair, as in being between them and the mirror walls.

Shanda spoke with a tone of anger. “What ever the malignance is, that is attacking, it is coming through, not from, the distorting mirror effect.”

He took out a multimorphin pocket projector, or so it seemed to be, of holographic images. The device chose what to do just as somehow he had been influenced to make use of it. Out from the group, forward of it even as it kept moving, he caused a tall silvery humanoid shape to appear. Its reflections, to both sides, at first seemed to have no influence but then the distortions began to smooth out. Even as the mirror walls came to once more act just like normal mirrors, the dark spiritual psychic attack vanished away.

Shanda put back the holographic projector that was no such thing. “I got a feeling that while we stopped the attacker that we did no harm to what ever it was. It has gone, I am sure of it.”

It was becoming clear, with some experimenting, that the multimorphin devices would not function, for the Seekachampions, except when it was necessary that they do; at those moments they would know to use them.

The shined up mirrors came to an end and they were back in a section of stone hallways dotted with Shaztec symbols and statue alcoves that were both carved out of the rock of the walls.

They came upon a great chamber where large statues, of impressive workmanship, were placed in big, ornate, alcoves. These were the Shazgodfolk of living deities that had been worshiped by the Shaztecs as gods, semigods, demigods and subgods.

They were not to be confused with the one great Shazzasha of multiple 'true' deities almost as one entity. It was said that at the end of a year, the start of a new one, 100 human sacrifices were made in the name of that one; yet a few outsiders had long come to the opinion that Shazzasha was just another name for Shadowadis, a true spiritual psychic entity of great evil. It would be no real surprise, at all, that the Shaztecs would become linked with that very powerful, and malignant, entity; it would at least help explain much about the Shaztec Empire, and those that dominated it as elites, after the living Shazgodfolk were defeated.

There were 13, tall, human figures who looked strikingly like the Seekachampion humans except that each of them had four arms, two wings, a head horn, and a long tapering tail.

Shazzie spoke to Sharry. “They could be you, except for the extra bits.”

Sharry sighed. “We Seekachampions were them!”

 

Edited August 3 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #38

 

[One][18.3]

Sagesmart materialised, being projected successfully into that place. He spoke, quietly, of those statues; he never sounded like he was lecturing people. “The 13 there represented the human Shazgods. There were supposedly 13 being five females, five males and three neuters as the physical entities; there were also three phasephysical entities and one metaphysical one. Yet, the truth, behind that supposed truth, was most probably more complicated-subtle than that. The other, statues, in this chamber represented such very strong possibilities. A few are representatives of lesser Shazgodfolk that served the Shazgods be they semigods, demigods or subgods.”

The Chamber of Less Sacred Living Deity Statues was what that place was named and it had not been in the mural as if not worthy of being there; or had it been created after the mural had been. Neither Sagesmart or Shazzie had any answers when it came to that matter though both had learned a few details of that place and the Shazgodfolk.

Shazzie spoke. “The Shazgodfolk were once considered to be most important, by the Shaztec religion of the Shazteczator but then came the Great Materialisation of Shazzasha and the Shazzasha Kindred. Thus the Shazgodfolk were reduced in their importance, power and influence. All of their temples were either destroyed or changed to the worship of Shazzasha. I remember learning that during holy schooling from a priestly teacher who, every so often, ranted against the Shazgods; he was just frightened of being caught, by his superiors, at being too neutral about them but he had good reason to be cautious for others suffered for not being so.”

The chamber led seemingly onto nowhere as there were no doors to go through to do so.

The Seekachampions examined all of the statues, touched them even the rather vulgarly displayed features of a sexual nature, and when Jhenna pulled down a prominent evidence of manhood, a piece of wall slid to one side.

So it was that they found a tomb, of sorts, with 13 large cubes of reddish tinted, semitransparent, material. In each was a naked human figure being, at least in appearance, eight women and five men. They were naked but made more modest by the semitransparency of the cubes' material. They were the Shazgods, by the signs placed below each of them. Or at least they were stated to be the 13 physical avatars. Except that they were proven, after careful and intensive analyse by the Seekachampions, that they were very sophisticated fakes as intricate clones that had never lived.

There was no obvious clues to why the fakery had been set up with what must have been set up with at least some trouble.

With a soft shimmering they were transshifted to Seekakeep to be examined. As hoped would be the case there were 13 doors there, being one behind each spot where a cube had been. Yet it turned out that the doors led to 13 smallish chambers stuffed full of the damaged, skeletal, remains and other evidence of high ranking Shaztec priests, bureaucrats, senators, warriors and others.

It soon became clear that they had been tortured to death!

 

Edited August 3 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #39 

 

[One][18.4]

Shazzie spoke. “Dark whisper stories spoke of the Shazgods carrying out revenge on Shaztec VIPs who helped in the process that lessened their status greatly including the murder of a few of the less powerful Shazgodfolk. After that the Shazgodfolk vanished away but not before they stole many valuable resources, artworks and artifices such as clever clockwork automatons. No evidence was found, of those terrible revenge killings.”

The evidence, of gruesome death, was transshifted to Seekakeep.

A secret door was found at the back, of each room that had held the skeletal remains. From left to right, as looking at them, the first discovery was a tunnel that slanted, horizontally, sharply off to the left. The next slanted, not so sharply, to the left. The middle door had a tunnel that went straight ahead. Then the two, to the right of the middle door, were firstly lightly sloping downwards and lastly, sloping upwards but not steeply so.

The tunnel, going sharply left, led back into the maze as did the next, to its right, that slanted to the left but not so extremely. A 'hunch', perhaps, came to Sharry and they checked, next, to two tunnels to the right. The upwards one led to a cave chamber that led to a hidden exit to the surface. The downwards one ended in a water channel centered tunnel that had a wide, stone ledge, on either side of it. It flowed, largely full of clean water, with much power.

A dead, human, body floated past showing wounds of being attacked with some kind of stabbing device, mostly likely a weapon of some kind. Garish tattoos indicated the man had been some kind of factional warrior.

Shazzie frowned. “Warrior factions sometimes skirmish with council guards, military soldiers, warrior priests who have special status, gangers, gangsters, rebels and too many others who often fight each other. The only reason they moderate their fighting is lack of resources including fighters. They also fight nonhumans. They only form alliances when facing more powerful foes that threaten them all. Bodies too often end up floating down this, and other, supposedly sacred channels. The channels do not lead to any sacred chambers but into a large, underground, lake.”

With a shimmering, the body vanished along with some water for analysing in Seekakeep where the body also went to.

In a sombre mood, the humans led the androids, robodrones and robots back to five secret doors and soon the group was heading along the straight, horizontal, tunnel. They glimpsed a trio of shadowghosts that darted out, of a wall, and studied the group before vanishing away again.

It was not good news as they had most probably been a scouting party that would carry information, of their discovery of the taskteam, back to those who had sent them.

 

Edited August 3 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.

[Maharg67]

Post #40 

 

[One][19.1]

The Doomsworldgodtri had sent out the nine Doomsworldgodmonos to try to discover why Hesheit  was so disturbed by a slowly-steadily growing sense of unease. The three Doomsworldgodduos were working far closer to home but were attempting to carry out the same task through a great range of Lesser Doomsworldgodfolk and other means. Discovering that the LittleCelestialManifs, and EverFolk, were busy onin Doomsworld was somehow both comforting and discomforting for they could be helpful but they tended t o be drawn to troublesome situations. It was very displeasing when it came fully to Hisherit that LittleAnticelestialManifs were active onin Doomsworld along others hinting a deeper troubles to come.

 

Edited August 2 by Maharg67
To show that this story has been edited from the start.